NOTES FROM A MYSTERY CRASH
Saturday September 30, a Los Angeles couple witnessed a Search and Rescue helicopter crash. The couple was hiking from Agnew Meadows to Thousand Island Lake, a popular day hike for locals and visitors alike out of Reds Meadow in Mammoth.
The crash officially took place in Madera County
The helicopter, from Lemoore Naval Air Station, crashed while attempting a rescue of an individual with a broken ankle in the area. The couple who witnessed the crash immediately went over to offer aid and call 911.
The couple later reported to FOX 26 News out of Fresno that they noticed the helicopter circling after they had decided to turn back due to temperatures and snow, and assumed the helicopter was performing a rescue. Shortly thereafter, the couple heard what seemed to be the engine experiencing mechanical issues, and then losing power, and then a loud crash as it landed in the river.
Photos confirm the helicopter crashed on its side in the San Joaquin River. The couple reported smelling fuel from the wreckage, in their Fox 26 interview, but received a “thumbs up” from crew members indicating there were no major injuries in the crash. Lemoore Naval Air Station reported that only minor injuries were sustained by the crew, including one Forest Service employee on board.
One week after the crash, local resident Brian Allen was planning to hike out to Iceberg Lake. He pulled off the main road and noticed signs indicating the parking lot ahead was closed, but a PCT hiker told him a few cars had passed by shortly before, so he drove on.
Allen saw that half of the parking lot was taken up by caution tape and the other half by a few campers. There, three to four were army personnel informed hikers the trailhead was closed. At this time the Army staff did confirm the presence of a helicopter in the river, albeit begrudgingly, after Allen told them how “Stupid it is” for them to close trails, especially ones they know nothing about on orders they aren’t sure of.
“They couldn’t tell North from South,” Allen said. “They didn’t know any trails, they just knew what they were told to say.” As of a week after the crash, Allen believed a lot of the helicopter was probably still laying in the San Joaquin, possibly even polluting the water with unknown amounts of fuels. Bryan was concerned about the fish and insect population, as well as the quality of water as it flows towards LA.
Allen never got to see the wreck that day as he was turned around by the Army. Instead, Allen headed to the Mammoth Visitor Center to determine if the trails were really closed.
The Forest Service Ranger at the Visitors Center informed him that they had only heard about the incident the night before, a week after the crash. The Forest Service ranger on duty told Allen no trails were closed and that he had not been told of anyone posted at trailheads turning people around.
As of Friday, October 20, it appearedthe helicopter had been carried out. Allen reported seeing the aircraft sitting behind the airport, with a crane next to it and parts laid about. This was three weeks after the crash.
By the next day, the truck and helicopter parts were gone. According to Allen there were two marine corps CH-53 helicopters that were used to carry the parts from the crash site to the airport getting ready to take off.
A PCT hiker, Daddy Long Legs (trail name), sent in a photo of the helicopter being carried out the same weekend Allen alleged. A popular app used by PCT hikers has notes as early as October 4 confirming the crash “a few days before” and 24/7 military patrol of the trails in the area. The trail notes confirmed what Allen encountered at the trailhead, “closed” trail sections.
As for the Forest Service or Lemoore Naval Air Station, there’s been no word. The crash has been confirmed by Forest Service personnel but no comment or public statement has been made.
